Just Like Lily
by littlebluedress016
Summary: James meets a little girl who reminded him so much of Lily.


I do not own anything you recognize.

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James Potter was bored at home. Normally when he has nothing to do he would ask Lily to come or he would go to her house. But his fiancée was away to help her cousin take care of her kids, and he had no way of knowing where she was. He couldn't send her letters, no; it would be too weird for her Muggle relatives.

So he found himself walking along a dirt road in small town in Berkshire. The road only went one way, and as far as he could see, it was leading to a park. He could see the small silhouette of what appears to be a playground, and decided to just follow the road. He took it a great opportunity to think alone. Sirius went looking for a flat, having just received an inheritance from an uncle who passed away. Peter was taking care of his mother and Remus was recovering from his transformation the night before.

There weren't many people in the park. He didn't find it strange, as it was a Tuesday and most parents would be at work and children would be playing at home or having some sort of extra lessons. He remembered the summers of his youth, when his mother would push him to learn how to play the piano and learn how to dance ballroom. He detested them, but his mother would not let him play Quidditch unless he complied.

_If Lily were here she would be giving me an earful for wasting my time instead of going through my job options_, he thought. _Why does everyone have somewhere to go?_

He was getting offers from the Ministry, trying to get him to join their ranks. But he already knew where he would be. However, Lily kept pestering him to get a job and not rely on his inheritance too much. His plan, however, was to join the Order of the Phoenix and fight full-time.

He walked around looking all the people. Many of them seemed to be young mothers and their children, or young couples on school holidays. He spotted a small redheaded girl running by the swings. She was going a little too fast and lost her grip. She screamed as James ran to catch her. She had her eyes shut, probably because she was expecting the impact. James smiled to himself. _The little girl looked so much like Lily_, he mused to himself.

She opened her eyes, apparently still thinking she was going to crash on the floor. James grinned at her as she looked up and saw him.

"Are you okay?" he asked her.

"Y-yeah. Thanks so much, mister", she said, hey big blue eyes shining.

"No problem. I always have a soft spot for redheads", he grinned. "Now, where's your mommy?"

"Mummy's at work. I'm here with my auntie. She went to buy me some ice cream, but she just left", the little girl said, looking at James in a very interested way.

"What's your name?" James asked.

"My mommy said not to talk to strangers", she replied.

James chuckled. "And she is quite right! But I'm not a stranger anymore, am I? My name is James."

"Okay then!" the girl smiled. "My name is Ella and I'm eight!"

"Well, nice to meet you, Ella! How about I keep you company while you wait for your Auntie?"

"Thank you", Ella said, still grinning. "She said she won't be long."

"You know, you remind me of my girlfriend", James told her.

"How so?"

"Well, you both have red hair. And big eyes. Except her eyes are green, not blue", James said, smiling serenely.

"Is she pretty?" Ella asked innocently.

"Very. She's the prettiest girl ever", James replied, a dreamy look crossing his face.

"Is she nice?" Ella prompted.

"Yes. She's one of the nicest people I know."

"Is she a princess?"

James laughed. "You could say that. Well, she's _my_ princess."

Ella smiled, revealing a couple of missing teeth. "My auntie should be back soon. I'll introduce you to her!"

"I look forward to it", James answered.

"What's your girlfriend's name?"

"Ella!" a voice called out.

"Oh, look, my auntie's here!" Ella said leaping to her feet. James turned to see a redheaded woman running towards them. James stood up, but as she got closer, he had to rub his eyes to make sure he wasn't being delusional.

"Lily?"

Lily stopped in her tracks. "James?" she said, eyebrow raised. "What are you doing here?"

"Change of scenery. You?"

"I told you, I'm helping Marigold with her kids. Why do you have Ella with you?"

"Auntie Lily!" Ella exclaimed. She turned to James. "Mister James, this is my Auntie Lily."

"You're her aunt?" James said loudly.

"Not really an aunt. Her mother's my cousin. But she calls me 'Auntie' anyway", explained Lily. "At least it's better than what she calls Petunia", she shrugged.

James, knowing Lily's rather horrid sister, could only ask, "What?"

Lily smirked. "Tell him what you call my sister, love", she told Ella.

"Your sister? Auntie Petty?" Ella said innocently, unaware of the meaning of the name.

James chuckled. "That certainly fits Petunia."

"Do you know him, Auntie Lily?" Ella asked, looking from Lily to James and back.

"Yes, I do, Ella", Lily smiled.

"And how did you know Auntie Lily?" she turned to James, putting her hands on her hips in a very Lily-like fashion.

"Lily is a classmate of mine from school", James answered simply, smiling slightly at how the little girl resembled Lily, right down to the mannerism.

"Auntie Lily, you went to the same school as him?" she said, as if waiting for confirmation.

"Yes, we were even Head Boy and Girl together", Lily stated simply.

"Oh. You know, he was telling me about his princess just now", Ella related happily.

"Did he now?" Lily said, glancing at James, a playful smile tugging her lips. "What did he say?"

"That she's the prettiest girl ever!" Ella said. "Auntie Lily, do you have a Prince Charming?"

"Yes, I do. He's strong and smart and loyal and sweet", Lily said, looking fondly at James.

"So, Mister James, you didn't tell me what your girlfriend's name is", Ella said

"It's Lily."

Ella looked excitedly from James to Lily, who was blushing. She then squealed.

"So your girlfriend has the same name as Auntie Lily?"

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I just wanted to post this up and get it out of the way. This will be my last story for a while. I want to rethink my ideas and work on my writing more, try to see why I wasn't getting any reviews. I don't know if my ideas or my writing isn't up to par, and to be honest, it's kind of discouraging. So I'm taking an indefinite hiatus, to concentrate on my singing and song writing, as well as my college classes. To those who reviewed my stories, thanks so much. It really did mean a lot to me. Love you guys and see you soon.


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